The Populist Party was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

between 1984 and 1996. It was

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

and often

white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...

in its ideology. The party was unrelated to the original American Populist Party or other American parties that have used the same name.

Willis Carto Willis Allison Carto (July 17, 1926 – October 26, 2015) was an American far-right political activist. He described himself as a Jeffersonian and a populist, but was primarily known for his promotion of antisemitic conspiracy theories and ...

helped found the Populist Party, which eventually served as an electoral vehicle for the former

Knights of the Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Catho ...

leader,

David Duke David Ernest Duke (born July 1, 1950) is an American white supremacist, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, far-right politician, convicted felon, and former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. From 1989 to 1992, he was a member ...

. The party was also known as the "America First" party.

1984 presidential election

In the 1984 presidential election, athlete and minister

Bob Richards Robert Eugene Richards (born February 20, 1926) is an American retired athlete, minister, and politician. He made three U.S. Olympic Teams in two events: the 1948, 1952, and 1956 Summer Olympics as a pole vaulter and as a decathlete in 1956. ...

ran for president of the United States on the newly formed far-right, Populist Party ticket. He and running mate Maureen Salaman earned 62,646 votes.

1988 presidential election

In the 1988 presidential election,

was the Populist Party's nominee for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

. In some states, the vice presidential nominee was Floyd Parker, while in other states it was

Trenton Stokes David Ernest Duke (born July 1, 1950) is an American white supremacist, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, far-right politician, convicted felon, and former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. From 1989 to 1992, he was a member ...

. Parker replaced

Bo Gritz James Gordon "Bo" Gritz (; born January 18, 1939) is an American former United States Army Special Forces officer and presidential candidate. After serving in the Vietnam War and retiring from the military, Gritz has worked on attempted POW res ...

, who had initially agreed to act as the party's nominee. However, Gritz pulled out when he discovered that the presidential nominee would be Duke rather than

James Traficant James Anthony Traficant Jr. (May 8, 1941 – September 27, 2014) was an American politician who served as a Democratic, and later independent, member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. He represented the 17th Congressiona ...

. (Gritz ran for a

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

seat in the

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instead.) The Populist Party ticket garnered 47,047 votes, for 0.04 percent of the national popular vote.

1992 presidential election

In the 1992 presidential election, the Populist Party nominated

for president and

Cyril Minett Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek name Κύριλλος (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek κυριος (''kýrios'') 'lord'. There are various varian ...

for vice president.Newell G. Bringhurst and Craig L Foster (2008). ''The Mormon Quest for the Presidency'' (Ann Arbor, Mich.: John Whitmer Books, ) pp. 208–226. Under the campaign slogan "God, Guns and Gritz" and publishing his political manifesto "The Bill of Gritz" (playing on his last name rhyming with "rights"), he called for staunch opposition to "

global government World government is the concept of a single political authority with jurisdiction over all humanity. It is conceived in a variety of forms, from tyrannical to democratic, which reflects its wide array of proponents and detractors. A world gove ...

" and "The New World Order", ending all foreign aid, and abolishing federal income tax and the

Federal Reserve System The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...

. Gritz received 106,152 votes nationwide, or 0.14 per cent of the popular vote. In two states he had a respectable showing for a third party candidate:

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, where he received 3.84 per cent of the vote, and

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

, where he received 2.13 per cent of the vote. In some counties, his support topped 10%, and in

Franklin County, Idaho Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 Census the county had a population of 14,194. The county seat and largest city is Preston. The county was established in 1913 and named after Franklin D. Richards, ...

, was only a few votes away from pushing

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

into fourth place in the county. The party ran candidates for a few other offices as well that year. Rita Gum got 0.47% in the Utah gubernatorial election, Anita Morrow 2.31% in the Utah Senate election, Harry Tootle 0.89% in the Nevada Senate election, Don Golden 1.05% in the race for

Nevada's 2nd congressional district Nevada's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district that includes the northern third of the state. It includes most of Lyon County, all of Churchill, Douglas, Elko, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Pershing, Storey, and Washoe counties ...

, and Ki R. Nelson 1.6% in the election for

Colorado's 3rd congressional district Colorado's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. It takes in most of the rural Western Slope in the state's western third portion, with a tendril in the south taking in some of the southern port ...

Dissolution

By 1996, the party had collapsed. It did not nominate any candidates for the 1996 presidential election or any other election.

Presidential tickets

Notes

{{Authority control 1984 establishments in the United States 1996 disestablishments in the United States Defunct conservative parties in the United States Defunct far-right political parties in the United States Political parties established in 1984 Political parties disestablished in 1996 Right-wing populism in the United States White nationalism in the United States White nationalist parties Political parties in the United States